Giving UX writing a seat at the design table

This is a contributed post written by Ashley Coolman. Ashley manages content strategy at Qordoba — a content intelligence platform that applies AI to help teams take control of content and produce impactful copy at scale. The header illustration is a collaboration between Abstract Senior Brand Designer Daina Lightfoot and Qordoba’s Creative Director Peter Hatch.

Every relationship is shaped by words. Often, words are the tipping point between becoming friends, staying acquaintances, or walking away from one another forever; one wrong word and everything can change. It’s the same for your product.

The words in your product often catalyze that “tipping point” for your users. An incomprehensible error message or a tone-deaf confirmation modal can be a deal-breaking moment for users.

Your team should spend as much time perfecting the UX copy as you do perfecting the design.

Whether you have a team of writers or a single do-it-all copywriter, carving out a workflow for effective UX writing can turn a good user experience into a great one. Here are some tips on collaborating with copywriters:

Include copywriters in your workflow

To give your users the best possible experience with your product, design and copy need to be integrated. Without a clear workflow, you might miss crucial opportunities to educate your users or create a moment of delight.

1. Leverage existing content to avoid duplicating work

If you want to make fast friends with a copywriter, read and capitalize upon what they’ve already written. When you need to create new content, start with a quick search of your blog, Help Center, support macros, and Dropbox or Google Drive team folders. Then, draft suggested copy based on what exists and pass that to the UX writer. When the first draft is anchored in pre-approved messaging, the process will be more efficient and fruitful.

💡Tip from Abstract: Google can help you find work by your team’s writers. Type in your site URL followed by a specific phrase, like this: site:[URL] “[phrase]”

2. Share all necessary context

Writers won’t be successful in a vacuum, so give them all the relevant details around the project (the sooner, the better). That includes context in the form of project plans, JIRA tickets, user journey flows, and including them in meetings (even if just to be a fly on the wall). With this information, a UX writer will better understand your goals, the problems/challenges a user might be experiencing, and how copy can clarify, reassure, and ultimately set the user up for success.

💡Tip from Abstract: Create quick videos using Quicktime or Loom to walk your UX writer through a flow and help them get the copy just right.

3. Communicate constraints

Just like a good design brief, sharing character or word count limits, line restrictions, and other guidelines upfront can significantly cut down on the inevitable back-and-forth. Also, articulating why these constraints exist will give the copywriter insight into your design process. Bonus: you’ll build mutual respect for each other’s craft along the way.

4. Request a review (the earlier, the better)

Words are core to the UX design process. I generally encourage looping in copywriters early and getting their final sign-off before calling it a day.

💡Tip from Abstract: You can formally request a review from a copywriter before your designs are merged to Master. They’ll then be able to approve your designs in Abstract.

Use tools of the copywriters’ trade

Writers know that the language you use can get someone excited to explore deeper, help them overcome a difficult learning moment, and encourage them to keep coming back. Even if you’re not the designated UX copywriter on your team, you can still put thought into how design and copy combine to communicate a consistent message.

1. Follow brand guidelines

When your users feel they understand your brand and know what to expect from you, you’ve earned their trust. And trust is the best form of currency. If your users encounter a problem, or something feels more difficult to accomplish than they originally expected, their level of trust in your brand will become a deciding factor in whether they keep trying or abandon your product.

Your team’s copywriters may already have a writing style guide outlining the voice, tone, and rules writers adhere to every day at your company. This copy style guide is writers’ equivalent to design style guides, templates, and libraries.

Reading over the copy style guide and keeping those content attributes in mind will help you collaborate with your team’s UX writing specialist. The copywriter works with these guidelines every day, so let them step in if you’re feeling stumped on which words to use.

2. Advocate for plain, active language

Be clear and direct with users. If you talk your way around a point, confusing users about which path to take, you risk turning them off your product.

Plain language does not require you to be boring; you can have fun and be clear. According to plainlanguage.gov, if your users can easily:

find what they need,

understand what they find, and

use what they find to meet their needs

then you have successfully communicated using plain language. A skilled writer can accomplish these goals without destroying the personality of their text (or using obtusely long sentences).

3. Mind language and cultural differences

While you might already think you’re using plain and active language, consider that what is plain to one audience may not be plain to another. I suggest avoiding colloquialisms, regional slang, difficult verb tenses, and complex sentence structures that a non-native speaker may struggle through.

Every word in your product matters

At the end of the day, we all work in the service of the user. Collaborating with experts across a variety of functions in your company is the key to building experiences that are worth writing home (or on Medium…) about.

How does your team collaborate? What UX writing feats have you celebrated recently? Share what you’ve learned with the Twittersphere, and mention @goabstract and @qordoba.

About the author

Ashley Coolman is passionate about the written word and how it impacts user experiences. She’s an avid reader of historical fiction, a devoted proponent of the Oxford Comma, and a dog person. She currently manages content strategy at Qordoba — a content intelligence platform that applies AI to help teams take control of content and produce impactful copy at scale. Learn more about Qordoba at www.qordoba.com.

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